The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1887-07-08
SOME OF AERMANN,s TRICKS.


TAKEN To tile Lookup Tor Plnying 10 Irac-
teal Joke-A Private seance.
In an up town managers Office the
other day little group of threatical men
were talking about the interstate COM
merce bill and other cheerful subjects,
when a tall, thin, swarthy man, with a
dark curling mustache and imperial, en-
tered. He was received with shout of
welcome. "Now for some entertain
ment, +" said one of those present, and in
very few minutes the prophecy was
fulfilled. The newcomer was Hermann,
a magician who contrives to make things
generally lively wherever he may happen
to find himself. After replying good
hmnoredly TO torrent Of questions about
his recent Brooklyn adventure-he was
led to a police station and narrowly es-
capped spending the night in a lookup for
playing practical joke on the occupants
of street car-he said in French Eng
lish: ''It was great fun, boys, though I
have not yet seen strictly true account
of it. 1t made itself as thus: find my
self in q street car with two or three
worthy people who look as though they
were too sleepy and need waking up.
wake them. Instead of thanking me,
they accuse me to policeman of picking
their pockets. The policeman takes me
to tho station house with my sleepy
friends.
1.-THE sergeant there takes the charge
down and asks me for what you call my
pedigree. give it to him and am about
to be sent to a dungeon, when with all the
politeness at my command l say: VIII
and see if they have been truly robbed?
They do so. The one who has lost
watch finds the pocketbook of the other
in his tail pocket. The poclzetbook man
finds gold watch in his trouser pocket,
while diamond pin which the third man
has lost is neatly pinned in the lapel of
the worthy policeman. Once more
speaking politely say, Hold on, 1 too,
have something lost, and taking off tho
hat of the sergeant l show him under
meath the lining q roll Of grcenbacks.
They say no word, and /, bowling politely
once more, leave the station house..
For the next ten minutes Hermann
turned the gathering into private seance
and exhibited in rapid succession some
really astonishing sleight of hand tricks.
One of the party was rolling a cigarette.
"Give me cigarette paper, said Her
mann. The little book of cigarette papers
was handed to him; he took one out ard
began deliberately tearing the slip Of It's
sue paper into eight or ten small pieces.
These he folded together once or twice
and then passed them to oneof the party.
'Roll it tight" said he, '"between your
finger and thumb The request was
complied with, and little ball Of paper
the size of a pea was the result of the
process. "Unroll that" said Herman,
'but mind you do not drop the pieces on
the floor" The little ball was carefully
unrolled and found to be whole. un-
torn piece Of paper of the exact size and
make of that taken from the book and
torn up by the conjurer.
As the subject gazed blankly at this as
tonishlng transformation. Hermann took
it from him and folded it in two once
more, and giving it back told him again
to roll it into q small ball. This was done,
and when it was once again unfolded,
half dozen scraps of torn paper were all
that remained. He took tobacco pouch
from the smoker and with a quick up
ward movement threw it into the air. 1t
was gone, completely vanished, and it
need hardly be said was found in the
breast pocket of an innocent onlooker.
This is one of Hermanns cleverest de-
ceptions, and one of those present said
he had frequently seen him perform it
with wineglass half full of wine. He
took tho same tobacco pouch and letting
it rest in the palm of his hand, held his
hand well out from his body. He then
closed his white fingers upon it, opened
his hand again, and the pouch was gone,
to reappear in a pigeon hole of the man.
ayers desk. York Tribune.